- 期刊
「談」出英語力－以亞洲大學「國際語文角落EZ Talk對談時間」為例
Promoting English Communication Ability by Talking: A Case Study of ILCAU's "Easy Talk" Program
摘要
高教人才英語溝通能力的提昇已成為臺灣各大學院校當務之急。國際人才的交流為促進英語化與多元化的重要媒介。亞洲大學近年來積極招募國際學生就讀英語碩士及學士學程，所成立之「國際語文角落」更藉此機會，自94學年度開始，安排國際學生在「國際語文角落」內擔任外籍助教，輔導全校學生進行英語對談，活動名稱為「EZ Talk 對談時間」。以英語為主要溝通工具，促使校內學生與國際學生進行交談、互動，以達成英語學習之目的。
「EZ Talk 對談時間」為亞洲大學「國際語文角落」參與人數最頻繁且最受歡迎之活動。本研究從該活動中，藉由問卷調查方式，了解本校學生與外籍助教對談時所衍生之學習需求與成效。本研究共發出488份問卷，其中429份為有效問卷，經過SPSS統計軟體分析處理後得知，受測者男女比例約為一比二；五成以上來自文理學院；大一及大二學生佔大多數。大多數受測者認為與國際學生用英語交談比與臺灣學生用英語交談效果佳，也較自在，並能學到不同國家文化，增廣見聞。整體而言，大多數受測者能了解國際學生用英語表達的意思，但對講英語仍有恐懼感。選擇對談者的內外在條件而言，大多數的受測者偏愛女性國際學生、具親和力及談話內容豐富的國際學生等。對談題材則偏好個人興趣、嗜好及日常生活點滴。受測者基本上對「EZ Talk對談時間」活動都給予正面的評價。本研究希望作為日後提昇學生課外學習英語之動機與興趣之依據，以發展未來「EZ Talk 對談時間」之教學策略或方法，使所有相關學習活動在教學過程中能充分運用學生的學習風格，達到更適才適性之學習目的。
並列摘要
The promotion of English communication ability among the graduates of higher education has been a hot issue for every college in Taiwan. In addition, the increased interactions among international elites have also become a key medium for advancing English popularization and diversification. Under this circumstance, Asia University in Taiwan has enthusiastically engaged in recruiting international students to attend its English master and bachelor programs. Since the academic year 2006, the International Language Corner of Asia University (ILCAU) has made concerted efforts by inviting the international students to be stationed in the ILCAU and be teaching assistants taking charge of the activity called EZ Talk. In this EZ Talk program, English is used as the main communication tool; and the native students are urged to have talks in English with the international students in order that they may strengthen their language skills in the process.
Of all the activities, EZ talk has been the most frequented and popular one in the ILCAU. The purpose of the study sought to realize the students' learning needs and effectiveness derived from having talks with the international students through using survey. Amounting to 488 questionnaires were distributed to the participants and of 429 were useable. After conducting SPSS statistical analysis, the researchers found that the gender (male/female) ratio of the participants was roughly 1:2. Above 50% of the population were from the College of Science and Arts and most of them were freshmen and sophomores. Most participants agreed that having conversations with international students was more relaxing and had better learning effects than with native peers. In addition, they gained more knowledge about different cultures. Overall, a majority of participants understood the conversations with international students, but were still afraid of speaking out English. The participants tended to choose the international students who were female, those who appeared to be friendlier, and those who could provide various conversation topics. The conversation topics that the participants were most interested in were concerning personal hobbies and daily life activities. Most participants gave positive remarks about the ”EZ Talk” program.
The study will hopefully serve as an important reference resource for future implementation of related activities to increase students' learning motivations and interests; and meanwhile, for developing applicable teaching strategies or methods. These in turn will allow all related learning activities to better fit students' learning styles in the teaching process, and finally to achieve the goal of teaching students in accordance with their personal aptitude and characters.